7: Clothing Experiment: Day 12 - My sign from God

Good evening, All! Sorry, I've slacked the last few days with keeping up with blogs and photos. I'm halting the photos at this point, as you've seen pretty much all of my outfits and repetition of pictures of me in the same clothing will become BORING, I'm sure!

I've done relatively well throughout this experiment, so far. On Sunday, I had to wear other items out of my 7 because I had a job interview. In consulting with my co-7ers, they all seemed to agree that I should dress accordingly for an interview and nothing in my "7" screamed ""appropriate for an interview. {Side note, the interview went very well...but the salary they offered just isn't going to work right now.}

I resumed my normal 7 wardrobe yesterday. Snugged up warm and cozy in the house with my family as Hurricane Sandy made her way through. This morning, I went onto Facebook and read this post by a friend of mine: 
"One of our ATA families and friends lost everything in a fire in their home last night during the hurricane. An Immediate need is clothing for the family: boy (size 7-8), mom (size 8-10), dad (size l-Xl). If you can pull anything together, they need it! You can drop off donations at ATA Royersford at 70 Buckwalter Rd. Royersfors (where Chik Fil A is). THANK YOU!!!"

Reading this tugged at me both emotionally and physically. Emotionally, my heart hurt so bad for this family that lost EVERYTHING! Everything?! Can you imagine? Physically, I got off my couch and went right up to my room and started tearing through my drawers and closets. I couldn't stop thinking "THIS is a sign from God. This is all happening right smack in the middle of my clothing experiment." I started piling everything up and just kept praying. I prayed for the family who lost everything and I praised God that I had the exact size clothing needed for the Mom who lost everything and Chad's clothes are the same as the need for the Dad. Chad has a limited wardrobe already, but I was able to grab 5 items for the dad.....and 28 items for the mom (not including about 10 or so pairs of socks). I immediately drove the two bags of clothes to the drop location.

This has weighed so heavily on my heart. I was very easily able to grab TWENTY EIGHT items to give away at the drop of a hat. Talk about excess! This was my true wake up call throughout this experiment. Thank the Lord for this message today. 

Please say a prayer for everyone affected by Hurricane Sandy....particularly the local family who lost their home to a fire during this disaster. 

7: Clothing Experiment - Days 6 & 7

Pro: I don't have to think about what I'm going to wear every day. My options are too limited for that. 
Con: My black and grey attire is severely lacking my FALL personality :)
Pro: I have a much better appreciation for the fact that I'm blessed to have clothes...of many varieties to cover myself.
Con: Washer and Dryer are overworked! (Not as if they weren't already with a family of 4....but now it's more)

Yesterday, Day 6 (Black tunic / tights / brown boots)

Today, Day 7 (striped long sleeve T / jeans / grey moccasins)

The laundry will be running yet again tonight! :) 

Wash, Rinse, Repeat (7: Day 5)

Hello, friends! 
Well, today is the first day I've had to repeat an article of clothing...I'm back to what I wore on Day 2- my grey tunic. I'm not repeating in numerical order because I tend to plan to wear  each item according to what I'm doing that day. A lot of my week days are repetitive each week, so I'm trying not to bore anyone with my attire...at least not this early into the experiment! :)

Day 5 - 2nd time in this outfit 

I'm enjoying not having to think too hard about what I'm going to wear each day. It makes my mornings much more relaxed and less time consuming. I've even gone as far, last night, as to make a list for the remaining days of this week of what I'll wear each day. This makes for completely mindless mornings. IT'S GREAT! I often say, when I eventually go back to working outside of the home, I'd love to be somewhere that requires uniforms. And I'd also LOVE it if my kids' school district would go to uniforms, too...as arguing with a 5 year old girl {who thinks she's 16} about what she's going to wear each day, is quickly becoming exhausting!  Today, however, was nice. It's SPIRIT DAY at her school and they are asked to wear RED. Considering the majority of her wardrobe is pink, she doesn't have much red, so it made choosing her outfit EASY PEASY today! 

7: Clothing Experiment: Days 3-4

Yesterday was Day 3 and today is Day 4...still no repeat of outfits, but tomorrow it will begin...so I have some laundry to do today!

Yesterday, Day 3, we had church, which is where my group of Mommies doing this experiment are from. It was nice to see the ladies and part of their wardrobes for the 7. My outfit consisted of jeans, striped long sleeve T and my cardigan. I added a scarf for flare :)

Today is Day 4. I have caught a head cold (AGAIN!)- it started yesterday...but I'm feeling worse today. Boo! {This too shall pass}. But it's a perfect day for my favorite comfy sweatshirt and yoga pants. {p.s. Head colds and brand new nose piercings are not a good pair!} Today's "accessory": my glasses. Not feeling up to popping those contacts in today! 

This is all too true :-/ 

This is my Proud Mommy sweatshirt with G's school 

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for the start of the repeat outfits! I'll attempt to change up the outfits a little if possible :) 

                                     

7: Clothing Experiment: Day 2

So, today, while on my clothing experiment, we decided, as a family that we'd go to the MALL for fun. My daughter loves to walk around there and wanted to visit the Disney store....again.... It's her favorite place...other than the REAL Disney World. We rarely go over to that end of the mall because the only two stores we visit on that side are the Disney store and Old Navy. Of course, of all times, they are finally carrying one of my favorite clothing items: TUNICS. Lots of them! Lots of colors, different cuts.....oh, tunic heaven! But alas, I am limited to my 7 items for the month, so I just...kept...walking.... I rarely ever leave Old Navy without a bag of goodies. 

So, here is my Day 2 wardrobe:

This is one of my favorites and definitely most comfortable. You'll be seeing this a lot.... 

I did do something fun last night to add to my permanent "accessories", though.... 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! :) 

7: Clothing experiment

My Mom's Group has been doing a book study titled: "7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess" which goes through the life of the author who believed "de-cluttering" in 7 areas of life would allow us to live more like Jesus. The first month was FOOD. The author, Jen Hatmaker, picked only 7 food items and ate only those for a whole month. Our group started off with the food experiment, as well. Mostly all of us at least tried the experiment, some of us did better than others (I'm one who failed miserably! :( )  Fat won.

This month's experiment (starting today) is CLOTHES. We are to pick 7 clothing items and wear only those for a whole month. As sad as I feel about this, being a clothes lover...particularly in the Fall season...I'm also looking forward to it. This little picture explains me all to well:

This is ridiculous! 

I have SO many clothes....not all of which fit me...as I have a constant struggle with weight.... but, nonetheless, a lot of clothes. Every day I go through the next few days inmy head planning what I'll wear. It changes on a daily basis. The more I think about this, the crazier I feel. There are so many more important things in life to worry about than what I'll be wearing. Don't get me wrong, I always want to look nice and I'll probably always love fashion and clothes...but making it my main focus doesn't feel RIGHT. My main focus should be Jesus and my family. 

And so starts the Clothes experiment. I have chosen 7 clothing items to wear for the next month. I have decided scarves, jewelry and coats do not count, as they are more an accessory than an actual clothing item. I'm also going to attempt to only wear two pairs of shoes - my gray moccasins and my brown boots. I have also tried to limit my wardrobe to black and grey (except for a blue sweatshirt), at the risk of looking like a total bore, but feel it will be easier to mix up the items to make different complete outfits. Here's what I've chosen: 1 pair of jeans, 1 grey tunic, 1 black tunic, 1 pair of yoga pants, 1 black and grey long sleeved T, 1 grey cardigan, 1 sweatshirt.  My friend Renee, also doing this experiment, did a photo similar to this...stole her idea. Thanks, Renee!

At the end of this month long experiment, I'm hoping to have more of an appreciation for everything that I have and will give some things away to those who actually need it. I do WANT to give stuff away...but I haven't DONE it yet. I'm hoping this experiment 1st: brings me closer to living like Jesus and 2nd: convicts me to give a lot of it away. 

Stay tuned for updates and I'll try to do pictures, too. :)

Being 5

My daughter, Grace, helps me see how innocent the world is through a child's eyes, without all of the negativity that adults possess. As often, and sometimes annoyingly as she asks "why," it used to make me analyze deeper why things are the way they are? But over-analyzing, I think, is why the world has come to what it has. With her innocence and minimal exposure to negativity...yes, I've kept her in a bubble for 5 years....I can answer a lot of her questions with "Because God made it that way" or "Because that is the way God expects it to happen." As simple as these answers may seem, so that a 5 year old can understand it, why can't we, as adults, accept these answers, too? The more time my Lord gives me on this Earth, the more and more I, myself, am starting to accept these answers. We are God's children. As long as we have Him in our lives, we need to re-organize our brains back to the innocence of children and stop over-analyzing. I have, and I am so much more content.

Deuteronomy 29:29
The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to ourchildren forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. 

The Week Recap :)

This week was relatively eventful...some bad, some neutral, and some good...but even though everything wasn't good, I'm still grateful for everything and blessed to have seen another week.

Our week started off with the flu - three of the four of us...thankfully the baby didn't catch it! Whew! But there was a lot of whining and groaning, nonetheless {Men!}. Thankfully Grace and I are strong and kept it together ;) From my understanding, ALL men are sissies, and in my opinion, worse than the kids when they're sick. But, I expect it every time and deal with it. I love him. After all, he took great care of Grace and me, as it started with us. But my heart-wrenching moment? BOOM, CRASH, THUD! I went charging into the bathroom Monday night to find him laying on the floor, with his eyes wide open...but he wouldn't respond! I shook him and was yelling his name. No response. Thirty seconds felt like eternity, but he finally responded. I think he was dehydrated. Talk about scary! But, he's alive and well now. I am thankful for my love and his recovered health....{and mine & G's}. Chad spent a few days home from work and we both got some much needed rest....well, as much rest as you can get with a 5 year old and almost 2 year old running around the house.

Wednesday was a whirlwind. Chad went back to work and life went back to normal...sort of. There was tons of laundry to be done...well, washed...I never tend to get to the folding until a day or two later. I had a doctor's appointment,so I dropped off the kids at my grandmother's house. Back track a little....I've been gaining weight at a rapid speed, have had a crazy appetite, mood swings, dry skin, irregular periods, body aches and so on and so on...so I requested some blood work to see what's going on! My doctor visit on Wednesday was to review the results of the tests. I was diagnosed with clinical Hypothyroidism. That certainly explains a lot! Bad news? It's not a curable disease and I'll have to take a synthetic thyroid medication (Levothyroxine) for the rest of my life. Good-ish news? At this point, it's controllable with a simple daily pill. The best news? I'm alive and thankful for each day. Truly.

On Thursday, I went to my Women's Bible Study group. We are studying the book of Ester. It is one of only two women's books in the Bible. It is very influential and I'm thoroughly enjoying the study and the fellowship with my sisters-in-Christ. On Thursday night, a my family got to enjoy a dinner out with my mom and then we strolled around the KOP mall for a while.

Friday morning, we (me and the kiddos) ran some errands, I dropped off Grace to school, Nathan came home for a nap and I finally got around to folding all of the laundry that I washed on...I think...Wednesday! On Friday night, my church initiated a "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" night. A family offers their home and hosts a dinner. They do not know who is coming and the guests only have an address and time to show up. We were to bring dessert. This made me very excited, as I have been craving pumpkin pie for over a week.....so, needless to say what we took for dessert! We arrived to our hosts, Mark and Debbie's home late...as there was an accident and traffic jam on 422 {shocking!}. But they welcomed us with open arms. We've met them in passing but didn't really "know" them. What a wonderful couple...who I came to adore in our two hours there, as well as their two teenaged daughters, Dara and Kara. Also in attendance as guests were Sue and Pat, who again, we've spoken to in passing at church. It was great to spend time and get to know all of these great people! As always, my kids were the free entertainment for the evening. But they were so well behaved and I was a very proud mama!  Grace took a liking to Kara (age 15) and she even taught her how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the piano! Grace picked it up so quickly! I think it may be time for lessons! :) Nathan made a new best friend with "Mr. Mark" as they shared some pumpkin pie. I think Mark was just as smitten with Nathan! 

 Kara and Grace

 Chad, Sue, Dara, Kara, Debbie, Pat, Me, Grace 

Mark and Nathan

Saturday morning (today), my sister and brother-in-law came over. Steve helped Chad with some projects around the house and Carol and I took the kids to Varner's Tree Farm for some pumpkins! Decorating for Fall is my favorite time of year to decorate! We took a horse drawn hay ride around the farm, too. It was great! When we got back, we all had pizza together, the kids took naps and the four adults finished up some more house work. 
~What great in-laws to be so helpful! We're eternally grateful! Tonight, we took a nice finally Fall-weather walk around the outlets. I loved being bundled in a sweatshirt and yoga pants...this is my favorite season! All in all, it's been a great weekend! 

These are placed on my front porch

My "little pumpkins"

Tomorrow, my church is having a LOVE FEAST. The whole congregation will have a pancake breakfast together while worshipping (chew, swallow, THEN sing!) I'm very excited about this new experience and I'll try to add some details following the service. Afterwards, I'm going for a much needed hair cut and color. If you don't already know, I have very short hair and I change my colors about every 4-5 weeks. I believe I'll be going with a black base and burgundy highlights this time around! :)  Right now, I'm wrapped up in my leopard print Snuggie and enjoying every second of it! 

Enjoy your upcoming week, and as always, thank you for reading my blogs! Any comments are also always welcome. God bless. 

The Sexy Sunglasses

After 44 hours of being ill with either the flu or the nastiest stomach bug known to human, I finally have some energy to write about my experience and the pride I got out of it all.
It started Saturday night when Grace woke up screaming for us as she lost her cupcakes on the way to the bathroom. I had just finished telling Chad that I was feeling queasy, myself. But I thought I just ate too many sweets having been to two birthday parties that day... As I sat comforting Grace, Chad began cleaning up her trail from her room to the bathroom. Just as I was going to blame the big wad of...what I'm guessing to be...at least three pieces of swallowed gum (she's not allowed to have gum) for her illness, I started getting the sweats and chills at that very moment. And so started my first visit to the Porcelain bowl. Oh - the abuse it has taken in the past two days - I'll spare all details...
Chad spent the entire night with Grace, as she woke up sick at least ten times. My poor angel. The good news? It passed through her system much, much quicker than mine. I only awoke about four times. At my official morning wake-up, I opened my eyes to find I was experiencing the worst migraine I ever had, ever, in my life. I spent the entire day in bed as Chad took care of the kids and puppy and was there for me with every text request I sent to him. Bless his heart.
I woke up again today still with the migraine. Even with the smallest amount of light coming through my blackout shades (I had my window cracked for fresh air), I couldn't handle it! Grace was already in my room checking on me. I asked her to go tell Daddy I needed my headache medicine. 
Within 30 minutes, Chad came up to tell me he was nauseous. Oh, No!! He explained his symptoms to me. Yep! He caught it! My poor hero husband...all that care taking he did for us...and his reward? The nastiness I wouldn't wish on any idiot driver on Route 422 during Rush Hour. 
I came downstairs so he wouldn't have to endure the pressure from two kids and a puppy. But not without first stumbling to my car to get my sunglasses....which I had to wear most of the day...inside of my bright house...over top of my Rx glasses. Sexy, right?

My pride? It came with learning the maturity that Grace (age 5) seemed to gain over night. Or maybe I just hadn't noticed well enough in the busyness of a normal day of operation in my life. She covered me with a blanket, sat at my feet, rubbed my leg and said "I love you, Mommy. Is there anything I can do to help you?" I just cried. My daughter is such a caring soul. It was at that moment I just looked at her and thought "when did she grow up?" She spent the rest of the morning playing with Nathan and making me "soup." (Soup = a plastic ball, a cross necklace, and a small bowl) and insisted that I eat it all so I'll feel better. 
I always miss her when I'm not with her, but I missed her even more when I dropped her off to Kindergarten this morning. I couldn't wait to pick her up. As we drove home, I asked her what she wanted for dinner. The kid totally deserves anything she wants today! She chose spaghetti. Made me love her even more: spaghetti is my favorite, too! I just hope I'm able to eat it....but leftovers will work tomorrow if I can't.